A year ago, Rock Band was one-of-a-kind. The only other contestant in the pretend musician genre was Guitar Hero III with its, in comparison, severely limited and by-the-books experience. Why be relegated to furiously finger-tapping multi-colored buttons all by your lonesome when you could have a group of friends over and piss off all your neighbors together? Rock Band outclassed its opponent in almost every imaginable way. But with Guitar Hero: World Tour tuning up, intent on shredding circles around its cocky nemesis by basically ripping it off, does Rock Band 2 offer enough freshness to keep fake musicians headbanging? Or should it get booed off the stage?

Let’s get one thing out of the way: No one - no one - really believes rhythm-action games somehow endow players with actual musical talent. They don’t. Congratulations if you’re able to five-star Green Grass and High Tides (the original Rock Band’’s final challenge) on Expert difficulty, but that doesn’t make you the next Joe Satriani, Neil Peart, Flea, or Bruce Dickinson. That said, Rock Band 2 still does a great job of providing the illusion of being a rock star, even if the closest thing you have to a groupie is an unrequited internet crush. How well the faux rock star experience holds up, however, is what’s important, not that you look silly holding what could pass as a Fisher-Price toy guitar in your hands.

The overall Rock Band experience remains largely unchanged in the sequel. Instead of mixing up the formula, Harmonix decided to streamline it. For example, the addictive World Tour mode can now be played by yourself. No longer will you need to bribe friends into banging a toy drum set with promises of perpetually-flowing beer just so you can work towards that elusive 1,000,000 fans achievement. Another addition is a set of ever-increasing unlockable challenges that provide individuals and groups with something to do when they aren’t jet-setting around the globe and bringing the noise to sold-out venues.

While the decision to hone what already works to perfection will please most, some of the more discerning and jaded rockers out there may feel slighted that outside of World Tour mode, not much has changed. The Create-a-Rocker mode and Rock Shop, where you can purchase hip new threads and get your avatar all inked up, are conspicuously familiar. It’s a shame that so few new options were added, but when the Madden-esque development cycle is considered (the original Rock Band came out not even a year ago), it’s not surprising. That doesn’t excuse Harmonix, though. It’s created the rhythm-action game to beat two years running, but that doesn’t mean they can get away with recycling so much content. Even in World Tour mode you’ll find yourself revisiting quite a few of the same venues and cities featured in the original. Ultimately, though, the set list is what’s most important. Luckily, Rock Band 2 nails it.

Harmonix went above and beyond to ensure fans were satisfied with the selection, delivering a set of songs that encapsulates different musical eras and sounds. 80+ tunes are on the disc, with another 20 promised as free DLC soon. And these songs absolutely blow-away the original’s ho-hum line-up of 58 songs, a dozen of which were by no-name bands. Rock Band 2’s music strikes a perfect chord and delivers both quantity and quality. And let’s not forget the ability to export most of the songs from the original Rock Band over to the sequel, as well as having access to all your previously downloaded tracks. Gamers are looking at 150+ songs to play on day one, and friends and family are faced with a choice: Move out, file a complaint at the local police department, or join in and have fun.

Certainly, Rock Band 2 makes some strides even as it falters. The revamped World Tour mode, amazing song list, online play, and unlockable challenges will make gamers stage dive into their entertainment center. Noticeably recycled content, however, mars some of the experience and will bring fake rockers back down to earth. But if you’ve ever wanted to tour the countryside in a rusty old van, play music for people who don’t give a shit, and not get paid, Rock Band 2 is a solid alternative. Plus, you won’t have to worry about hearing years later that one of your fans had a kid who looks suspiciously like you.

Plusses

Huge variety of songs helps alleviate repetition. As great as some songs are, you still don’t want to be forced to play them over and over again.

This is still the ultimate party game for nerds; D&D be damned!

Plenty of options for both lonely players and full bands. Loads of unlockable content and weekly updated challenges will keep you at the top of your fake rock game.

Minuses

It costs 400 MS points to Export the tracks from Rock Band, and yet it still doesn’t carry over every song!

Repeated content. Yeah, I know this is a sequel and that it should share some elements with its predecessor, but not this much. This is like Guitar Hero: Aerosmith all over again!

Still the priciest title in gaming today. You could buy another console will all the money you’ll wind up spending to get the Rock Band experience. I know you can’t put a price tag on ‘fun,’ but if I told you ‘fun’ cost nearly $300, would you still want to buy?